The one-way loop road runs around the Cades Cove area and provides great views of the valley and opportunities to spot wildlife. Unfortunately, despite numerous pull-offs, most drivers seem to think it’s acceptable to stop in the middle of the road and block traffic to take pictures. We hit a traffic jam almost immediately upon getting on the road. Less than a mile down the road, there was a family of black bears in one of the clearings.
As we slowly drove past, two cubs were up in a tree and the mother bear was foraging on the ground right next to the road. We drove a little further past and pulled over then ran back to get some pictures. By the time we got back, the mother had climbed up into the tree and the two cubs were foraging around on the ground.
They were incredibly cute! They looked around for acorns and nuts to eat for a while, paying little attention to the hordes of people and cars going past. Then, the little cubs ran off into the woods. The mother bear then climbed down from the tree and ran across the field to catch up to her young in the woods.
It was a very exciting wildlife spotting. Once the bears were gone, we got back in the cars and continued along the road. The fall colors were beautiful in the early morning light.
We headed past the Cades Cove Visitor Center and got on Forge Creek Road. We followed this road to the end and parked at the trailhead for Gregory Ridge Trail. After getting out stuff together, we started hiking up the trail. It’s about 5.5 miles to the summit of Gregory Bald, gaining about 3000 feet of elevation. The first two miles are pretty flat, gaining only about 500 feet in elevation as the trail follows Forge Creek upstream.
We crossed the creek a couple times on log bridges and then came to the Forge Creek campsite (#12) where we stopped for a snack. I was getting a little concerned that we had gained so little elevation in the first two miles and had so much more to gain before the hike was over. Sure enough, as soon as we left the campsite, the trail started getting steep as it headed up Gregory Ridge. The going was steep, but not so steep as to be unpleasant, and there were plenty of distractions along the way.
Right past the campsite, we came to a spot with the most beautiful fall colors, at an elevation of about 2800 feet.
We stopped for a while here for pictures and to enjoy the colors, then continued hiking up. Most of the rest of the hike was through a more forested area so there were no panoramic views. But throughout the hike, the foliage was spectacular. We saw some late-blooming aster along the trail.
And further along, I saw some mushrooms, maybe Mica Caps, growing inside a cavity in a tree.
In about 3 miles from the campsite, we came to the end of Gregory Ridge Trail and turned right on Gregory Bald Trail to make the last half-mile up to the summit.
Gregory Bald is a grassy bald, so the views are much better than most of the Appalachian peaks, which are covered with dense forest. Although it’s a natural bald, the National Park Service maintains it to keep it bald.
It was cloudy, which diminished the views a bit and even drizzled a little bit when we got to the top. We found some trees to seek shelter from the rain while we ate lunch and then wandered around a bit to get some pictures.
Once we were done, we made the hike back down the mountain.
It was all downhill, so it went a lot faster on the return.
In about 2 hours, we made it back down to the base and then starting driving back towards the scenic loop drive. Along the way, we made a quick stop at Henry Whitehead Cabin along Forge Creek Road for a quick picture.
Then we continued to the Visitor Center. While Sandy shopped for a bit, I walked around and got some pictures of the historic old houses and mill.
From here, we got back on Cades Cove Loop Road, finishing up the very slow drive and then left the park and headed into Townsend. We had a good barbeque dinner at Smokin’ Joes and then went back to camp. We built a campfire and socialized around the fire before retiring for the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment